Legion news

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Jul 29, 2016

Ottawa, 29 July 2016
Royal Canadian Legion fed up with misrepresentation by media

Dear Editor:

Between the dates of 25 February 2016 and 27 July 2016, Postmedia published nine articles about The Royal Canadian Legion and Dominion Command which have inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete information. Dominion Command is committed to good governance, transparency and accountability and we are dismayed that inaccurate information continues to circulate about the Legion and Dominion Command.

In article after article, we see pervasive false information. Claims that we are charging a fee for ill and injured Veterans to receive care through the Legion’s new OSI Special Section – false! Claims accusing us of suspending a Legion member who was concerned about the treatment of Veterans – incomplete and misleading! Claims insinuating Dominion Command lacks financial transparency and accountability – false! There are simply too many inaccuracies and false information to list and correct in one Letter to the Editor, so we posted a full disclosure article on our website and encourage all Canadians to check it out and get the facts.

Dominion Command has sent emails, requested interviews, and even participated in interviews with media to correct the information, yet these inaccuracies continue to be published. These articles unfairly discredit the Legion and the good work we do in support of Veterans and their families.

As a democratic member-based organization with nearly 300,000 member volunteers in over 1400 branches across the country we recognize we are not perfect. Where we see challenges we work to improve them. From reviewing and ensuring accountability and transparency, to strengthening member and public communications, to reaching out to the younger generation of Veterans and listening to their needs, to working with Provincial Commands and Branches to ensure all Veterans have access to Legion programs and support, to creating a welcoming atmosphere at all Branches, and more… we are moving this organization forward.

To Postmedia we say… get the facts, stop the insinuations and false accusations and check your ethics. We will no longer stand quiet while Postmedia writes this drivel and other media outlets blindly republish it, tarnishing the good name of The Royal Canadian Legion.